Whose son is Messiah ben Joseph? If you’ve read my earlier posts, you’ll know that Messiah ben Joseph is the slain messiah of the rabbis. But where does he come from? Or, to put it another way, whose son is Messiah ben Joseph?
Messiah ben Joseph
Messiah ben Joseph: A Sacrifice of Atonement for Israel
Does Messiah ben Joseph die as a sacrifice of atonement? Scholars say no. But I believe that is a misconception which we should challenge.
I have recently addressed common misunderstandings about Messiah ben Ephraim ben Joseph, the eschatological Ephraimite king who is slain before the coming of Messiah ben David.[1] In particular, I have proposed, contrary to current opinion, that his essential characteristics derive from Deut. 33:17 and so predate the turn of the era.[2]
I would now like to challenge another popular misconception: that is, the widespread claim that Messiah ben Joseph’s death has no atoning power.
Messiah bar Ephraim in the Targums
Messiah bar Ephraim (Messiah ben Joseph) appears in the targums of Zech. 12:10, Exodus 40.9-11, and the Song of Songs. I examine all three passages here. I conclude that the Targumic Tosefta to Zech. 12.10, where Messiah bar Ephraim is vanquished, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to Exod. 40.9-11, where he is the vanquisher, both predate the Christian period. The apparent conflict between his suffering and conquering roles may indicate a belief that Bar Ephraim’s death effects the final redemption. References in the Targum to the Song of Songs are also considered.
Firstborn Shor and Rem: A Sacrificial Josephite Messiah
Two mysterious bull figures, a firstborn shor and a rem, feature in 1 Enoch 90 and in Deuteronomy 33. All agree that the figures in 1 Enoch speak of the Messiah. But what about those in Deuteronomy? Could they be about the Messiah too? Here I argue that they are. In fact, they speak about a Josephite Messiah, that is, a Messiah ben Joseph.
Messiah ben Joseph in the Talmud: Rabbi Dosa & the Rabbis Differ
There are three references to Messiah ben Joseph in the Talmud. They all appear on a single page of the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52. This paper discusses the interpretation and dating of these texts.
Messiah ben Joseph | Origins #2 (Deuteronomy)
In our last post we saw how Rabbinic literature features the figure of Messiah ben Joseph, the slain Galilean Messiah, and how his origins lie in the Seed of the Woman promised to Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3, and in the Shepherd-Rock from Shaddai, promised to Joseph in Genesis 49. But it’s when these two promises are joined together in the book of Deuteronomy that we see Messiah ben Joseph as a dying and rising figure.
Messiah ben Joseph in Genesis | Origins #1
What are the origins of Messiah ben Joseph? Some people think he originated after the Romans sacked Jerusalem. But actually Messiah ben Joseph is first found in the Book of Genesis. Read on to find out why…
A Dying and Rising Josephite Messiah in 4Q372
What is the Dead Sea Scrolls Text called the Joseph Apocryphon (4Q372) really about? I propose here that it is about a dying and rising Josephite Messiah.
A Josephite Messiah in 4QTestimonia
It is generally recognized that Messianic belief at Qumran was not rigid. Some texts witness to two deliverers. Others are thought to have three: priest messiah, king messiah, and prophet [1]. I wish to suggest here that one text, so far understood as having three deliverers, has in fact four deliverers, and one of them is a Josephite Messiah.